In what turned out to be another Chinnaswamy run-fest, the rasam tasted a little bit sweeter for Chennai Super Kings as they pipped Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs. Here is a list of the major takeaways from the game.
Faf du Plessis, Maxwell blaze away
Although the conditions were tailor-made for batting, Bangalore began on a poor note, losing Virat Kohli and M Lomror early in pursuit of 227. At that juncture, du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell cracked a volley of shots to not just bring Bangalore right back in the game but also give them the upper hand for a few overs. It was Maxwell who lifted Bangalore’s sagging spirits by whipping and lofting Akash Singh for sixes. Du Plessis then took over by tonking Tushar Deshpande for two fours and a six. He continued to put on a great show in the Chinnaswamy cauldron by smacking Maheesh Theekshana over long-off and then deep square leg.
When Matheesha Pathirana was introduced into the attack, Maxwell crunched an eye-catching pull over deep midwicket. Eventually, in the 13th over, Theekshana made the breakthrough by removing Maxwell with the carrom ball. Du Plessis, who seemed to be struggling with a rib injury sustained while fielding, then was dismissed by Moeen Ali.
Siraj’s masterlcass in tough conditions
On a batting paradise, Mohammed Siraj put in a superb performance, giving away just 30 from his quota of four overs. Even in the penultimate over, Siraj mixed up his lines and lengths – wide yorker, short ball and low full tosses – to keep the batters quiet. The key point to note was that he kept it simple by bowling to the fields set by his captain.
Chennai and fluffed chances
Early on in Bangalore’s innings, Theekshana dropped a chance at mid-off. Luckily for Chennai, this particular grassed chance didn’t cost Chennai one bit as Lomror was dismissed for no score. In the 11th over, Theekshana then fluffed a relatively easy caught-and-bowled opportunity, with du Plessis getting the reprieve. In the 17th over, Ruturaj Gaikwad dropped a catch at long-on, and this time it was Dinesh Karthik that was the beneficiary. Although Chennai held their nerve in the end, MS Dhoni and the rest of the think-tank wouldn’t exactly be pleased with the butter fingers.
How did Chennai claw their way back?
On the back of gritty efforts from Deshpande and Pathirana in the slog. Deshpande dislodged Karthik with the low full toss, and also sent Wayne Parnell back to the hut. In the last over, Pathirana bowled a picture-perfect yorker to Suyash Prabhudessai, and finally dismissed him with the slower ball. When compared to someone like Lasith Malinga, Pathirana’s release point seems lower and the arm comes from right behind his back. It would take a bit of time to adjust to his action.
Dube and pyrotechnics
Despite Ajinkya Rahane’s 20-ball cameo for 37, Chennai needed a couple of batters to floor the pedal. That acceleration was provided by Shivam Dube and, to a lesser extent, Devon Conway. In the 11th over, Dube showcased his hitting prowess by clobbering Maxwell deep into the night sky. Conway followed him up by steering and flicking Vijaykumar Vyshak for two fours and a six. Soon, Dube brought up the 50-run alliance with a pull off Siraj.
The carnage didn’t stop there as the duo combined to collect 19 runs off the misfiring Vyshak in the 15th over. By the time Conway fell to Harshal Patel’s loopy slower one, the damage had been done. Meanwhile, after a dream IPL debut, it was a reality check for Vyshak as he finished with expensive figures of 1 for 62 from four overs.